Chapter 272: Candy thief

Vlad silently stared at her as she sealed her plump lips, hiding the candy behind them. The mischievous glint in her pink eyes was impossible to miss. He already understood what she meant by sharing.

He stepped forward, one hand moving to her waist while the other settled on her cheek, his fingers sliding to the back of her neck. Seraphina’s eyes widened slightly, as if she had realized too late what she had just invited.

He pulled her closer by both neck and waist, causing the girl to let out a soft gasp.

In one decisive motion, he pressed his lips against the soft, naturally tinted red lips of hers.

It wasn’t an immature kiss like before anymore. His tongue found its way inside her mouth, where it tried to steal the candy. Her rosy fragrance filled his nose while the sweetness of the candy flooded his mouth.

Vlad’s tongue was about to take the candy, but Seraphina’s tongue stopped it midway, as if she didn’t want to end it just yet. Her fingers slipped into the hair at the back of his head as the duo continued their duel for the candy. Or more accurately, the candy was just an excuse at this point, so that they could taste each other more.

"Mnh~" Seraphina whimpered, her grip tightening on his hair as she struggled to breathe. Yet she wasn’t willing to move back. She wanted more.

Vlad’s grip on her waist tightened, pressing their bodies together and lifting her onto her toes. The sudden closeness made Seraphina squeeze her eyes shut even tighter. Vlad took the advantage, stealing the candy and finally parting his lips.

A thin thread of silver still connected the duo. Seraphina’s chest rose and fell under heavy breaths as she opened her fluttering pink eyes. Her face was completely crimson, and her eyes dared not meet Vlad’s. Now that the kiss had ended, the immediate shame of what they had been doing followed.

"Thief," Seraphina muttered, pushing him back. Or at least she tried. Vlad still held her firmly by the waist. "Now that you have the candy, let me go—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Vlad sealed her lips again. She tightly held the fabric of his shirt. She was prepared the first time, but now it was completely unexpected. Her knees threatened to give out, and the arm around her waist was the only thing keeping her upright.

When Vlad parted and removed his hand from her waist, he whispered, "You can have it back."

The candy rested again inside Seraphina’s mouth. Vlad could practically see the fumes rising from her face.

Vlad wasn’t faring any better. Despite the confidence in his tone, his face was almost as red as Seraphina’s. His heart hammered against his ribs so loudly that he feared she could hear it. He never thought a kiss could have the same effect as several hours of training.

"Aaan! You can’t just do that so suddenly," Seraphina whimpered, throwing little punches at his chest.

"Now you understand how it feels to get suddenly ambushed," Vlad teased, grabbing her wrists and trying to sound confident.

Seraphina’s breath hitched. She had no response to that. She was the one who had ambushed him just the previous day, after all.

"Oh right," Vlad continued, leaning closer until his face was level with her blushing one. "I have a reward to claim from the mighty President of the Student Council."

Seraphina’s blush only deepened, both from the closeness and from the fact that Vlad still remembered she had promised him ten kisses.

Her eyes turned sideways as she whispered, "What we have done just now was worth more than a hundred kisses. Don’t be so greedy."

Vlad only leaned closer, his lips reaching her ear, which instinctively made her shoulders rise and her body tense. "Is the Student Council President going back on her words?"

"You are being a meanie, Vlad," she cried, taking a couple of steps back. "Fine, I will give you the reward. But!"

She raised a trembling finger. "N-not right now. I can’t take so much sweetness at once."

She quickly moved forward, rose to her toes, and kissed him on the cheek. As she settled back onto her heels, she tucked a strand of crimson hair behind her ear and murmured, "Be content with it for now. I will give you the other nine later."

Vlad’s fingers brushed his cheek, where he could still feel the lingering softness of her lips.

"Alright," Vlad agreed.

Seraphina released a sigh of relief. She had been afraid he wouldn’t agree. They were standing in the open, after all, with anyone able to walk in at any moment. A cool breeze brushed past them, doing very little for their burning cheeks.

She was still wondering what had gotten into her to suddenly seduce Vlad with the candy. Perhaps it was his sudden confession that had made her lose her reason for a moment.

"Sera," Vlad’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Y-yes," she answered.

The duo walked side by side towards the door that led to the lower floors of the Main Building.

"You know we have Midterms from the day after tomorrow, right" Vlad revealed just in case if Seraphina wasn’t aware.

"Of course," Seraphina replied matter-of-factly.

Her confident tone told Vlad that she didn’t seem worried about them at all.

"Are you prepared?" He asked. Since she had also been away from the academy for the quest, she mustn’t have had much time to prepare either. Perhaps she could send a formal appeal to the principal requesting that the exams be postponed. She was the Student Council President, after all.

"Naturally. I already finished studying the syllabus before leaving for the quest," Seraphina revealed, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

"O-oh," the voice barely escaped his lips. ’So I’m the only one who is screwed.’

Seraphina stopped in her tracks, noticing the worried expression on Vlad’s face.

"Wait, don’t tell me..." She gasped, her eyes widening. "You didn’t prepare for the exams at all, did you?"

Vlad looked at her with puppy eyes, holding both of her hands between his. "Please help your poor junior, Senior Sera."